IN BRIEF
AMBITIOUS PLANS AGREED FOR WIRRAL LANDMARK
PORT SUNLIGHT VILLAGE TRUST LAUNCHES FIRST ONLINE EXHIBITION
A Wirral landmark is a step closer to being restored to its former glory and transformed into a specialist maritime centre under plans agreed by councillors .
The iconic 19th century Grade 2 listed Hydraulic Tower building , a copy of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence , had been left unused for decades at the Four Bridges but is now moving ahead with being brought back to life as the Maritime Knowledge Hub . The Economy , Regeneration and Development Committee agreed to recommend the Wirral Waters Investment Fund be approved for investment into the Maritime Knowledge Hub and another key Wirral Waters scheme , Egerton Village , which will include retail to support the emerging residential developments nearby plus a new square with an events programme as well as managed workspace and studios and potentially a restaurant . The council is moving forward with agreeing 250-year lease on the building and investing in its redevelopment to help maintain the momentum of regeneration in the area , including creating hundreds of new jobs , and working closely with Wirral Waters developer Peel L & P .
The Maritime Knowledge Hub will be a world class centre of excellence for maritime business growth and sector development , bringing together the region ’ s key maritime assets in business , research , education , and training to address future challenges around innovation and skills within a refurbished and new high-profile centre . The project , which is within the Wirral Waters Enterprise Zone has the potential to create up to 621 new jobs while also helping in the reclamation of circa 2.3 acres of brownfield land and bringing a listed building back into use . The space will be designed to create an environment for maritime businesses and for university provision to locate and for a range of skills to come together from these organisations to help drive new products intended to significantly advance the growth of the sector , focussing on decarbonisation and digitalisation which are the prominent technology challenges for the sector and closely linked to the council ’ s own net carbon targets .
The scheme has an outline design that has been prepared by two award-winning , internationally acclaimed architectural firms , Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects in Denmark , and Ellis Williams Architects in Liverpool . The architects are committed to breathing new life back into the Grade II listed Hydraulic Tower building , which was bombed during World War II with an emphasis on designing in sustainability . Visually , this project is expected to be one of the most spectacular parts of the entire Wirral Waters regeneration project .
Port Sunlight Village Trust ( PSVT ) has launched their first online exhibition , Drawn Together , the final output of a partnership project to digitise and increase access to the original architectural drawings of Port Sunlight Village . The project has been made possible through a Sharing Heritage grant distributed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund .
Led by PSVT , the online exhibition ( www . drawntogether . portsunlightvillage . com ) brings together for the first-time collections from Unilever Art , Archives and Records Management ( UARM ), National Museums Liverpool ( NML ), Wirral Archive Services and Bolton Libraries and Museums Service .
Drawn Together provides access to over 650 drawings , with the oldest dating back to 1889 . The exhibition includes illustrated introductions to the different building types and landscape features shown in the collection and virtual visitors can explore the site through a powerful search function and mapping tool which enables users to find drawings by architect , year or street name .
Katherine Lynch , Director of Heritage at PSVT comments ;
“ This project has been in the pipeline for several years and we , along with our partners , are very proud to finally be able to share these beautiful drawings with everyone . It feels very fitting to be launching this online exhibition right now . So many people have been prevented from spending time in areas of outstanding architectural beauty over the last 12 months . Drawn Together is a perfect way to connect with Port Sunlight and the founder ’ s vision for people and place without leaving the safety of home .
“ Whether you ’ re a student , historian , village resident or just curious about architecture and the evolution of Port Sunlight , we hope Drawn Together will be of interest to a broad range of people . It will be fascinating to see how people interact with these amazing works of art . Our intention is to add to the digital collection as more drawings become available .
For more information about the online exhibition , please visit https :// drawntogether . portsunlightvillage . com /
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